Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1887-10-14
STOVES IN CARS,
How Railroads are Obeylng the New
Laws.

How Railroads are ObeylnG the New
Laws.
Upon the sixth Of June last, the legislature
IF Massachusetts passed law forbidding the
use of common stoves in the heating Of rail
way cars within the State, the said law to
take effect Immediately upon the day of its
passage. The exact phraseology of the act is
as follows:-
Section !. No passenger, mail or baggage
car on any railroad in this Commonwealth
shall be heated by any method Of heating or
by any furnace or heater, unless such method
or the use of such furnace or heater shall
first have been approved in writing by the
board of railroad commissioners; provided,
however, that in no event shall q common
stove be allowed in any such car; and pro-
vided, also, that any railroad corporation
may, with the permission of said board
make such experiments in heating their pas
senger cars as said board may deem proper.
Sect. 2 Amy railroad corporation VIC
lating any of the provisions of the preceding
section shall forfeit sum not exceeding five
hundred dollars.
Upon the same day the legislature passed a
resolve to the effect that the railroad commits
sioners should investigate the subject of heat
ing and lighting railway cars, and report to
the next court This action on the part of the
legislature, it will be remem bered was the
outcome of the public agitation Of the ques-
ton of stoves in cars succeeding several ter
rible accidents and CONGREGATIONS on rail-
roads in this vicinity. The people were
thoroughly aroused, and in consequence the
railroad committee of the house drafted the
bill which was passed, which forced the
railroads to do away with stoves entirely,
and spend the summer months in finding some
substitute.
The direct action of the law is to force the
railroads still using the dangerous common
wood or coal stove" to replace it with some
safer system or apparatus. While til the
expressed intention of the law, as well as of
the railroad commissioners, to intro
duce as soon as possible some
system of heating by steam, from
the locomotive, where all fires will be exclud-
ed from the cars themselves, still for the
present, when no such system has been rem
dered practicable, the other approved meth
DDS are allowable. The law and the commits
choice of methods, and they show DISPOSE
ton to make the change as easy for the rail
road corporations as possible, but they SIM
ply will not allow the common stove any
longer.
The roads running out of Boston are all be
ing equipped as rapidly as possible with new
systems The Boston & Albany has but lit
tie more to do, to be fully supplied with the
Martin heater The New York & New Eng
land adopt the same. The Boston & Provi-
dence are putting in both the Sewall and the
Gold systems, while the other roads are try
ing the Baker and several others. Mr. George
G. Croker of the railroad commission in his
report addressed to the railroad corporations,
said: THE separate heater cannot at present
be wholly dispensed with, nor would
it be possible for the railroads to make so
radical change before cold weather sets in
The cars must be heated. The chill of the
unheated car would probably kill more peo-
pc than the flames from broken heaters
Death would ensue, not so suddenly but none
the less surely" But with the progress being
made, it is not likely that there will be either
O shortage of cars, cold cars or dangerously
heated cars upon any of the roads